Welcome to the Jungle

The new Safari Sam’s is a marvelous music venue, but it’s just as popular with the kids for its outdoor wildlife habitat.With a humongous lot shared by the 99 Cents Only store, the scene outsideis basically Indie Rock Parking Lot, buzzing with retro-garbed nicotine nymphs — though any mullets are strictly ironic. Ponytails, too. At Sam’s new Check Yo’ Ponytail night, the sounds — spun early by White Trash Charms’ Brooke D and pal Kelly Osbourne (looking fit in tight black stretch pants) — included Journey and Faster Pussycat, while the rap performance by Subtitle provided a funky if frantic change of pace. The dude rambled so fast it was hard to understand him, but when we did, his prose — about random stuff like drugs, hair, animals, music and life — was utterly brilliant. Seen Sam-ing it up: Hang the DJs’Scarlett Casanova (who revealed she’s joining Chan’s I Heart Comix party-throwing team; they had a loft rager downtown a few weeks ago, with more to come). Also spotted: Safari Sam’s “impresario” Chad Forrello and booker Patrick Llewellyn, who tells us he’ll be throwing one of his wild tribute nights (celebrating Alice Cooper) in the next few months . Kelly O also rocked the new bod at boy-toy pop fest Tigerheat at Arena last Thursday, introducing one of her videos before heading to the club’s new VIP lounge, where the likes of Drew Barrymore, Nicole Richie, Steve O, Mischa Barton and The Olsen Twins have been seen the past few months — with their hairdressers and makeup artists in tow, we guess.

Indie Hood

Some hot acts (The Icarus Line, 8 Bit, Moving Units) played the Neighborhood Music Festival in Long Beach last Saturday, and though it ain’t our hood, it’s clear the LBC’s definitely got its own hipster scene; almost everyone had the Hollywood rock-kid haircut, and we didn’t even recognize most of ‘em! Still, the turnout for the Dim Mak–sponsored event wasn’t exactly impressive till about dusk, when white-boy rapper Mickey Avalon took the stage with his lascivious limericks. Avalon’s set went over so well he veered past schedule and seemed to piss off the stage manager — who then begrudgingly let him do one extra song, the feel-good anthem “My Dick” (though “My Crack” would have been more appropriate). Speaking of raunchy rap, NYC trash tarts Avenue D (of the dance-floor hit “Do I Look Like A Slut?”) may not be asking that question for a while. After serving up a smoldering set before headliners Dirty Sanchez at the Key Club on Wednesday, the girls got a little too tipsy, we hear — tipping over, laying down in the crowd and eventually being dragged off by club security. Though the gals called the cops on the guards, it was they who ended up in cuffs, which we’re sure they wouldn’t have minded under other circumstances. Could this lead to an East Coast/West Coast electroclash beef? Time will tell .